And May the British Burn My Land…
Lee frantically jumped out of the carriage and ran awkwardly towards what used to be his grand, magnificent mansion, which was now being consumed with high orange flames. He felt his chin drop down and his tongue became as dry as a desert wind.
"No!!" he screamed out, though he could not hear himself over the sound of the roaring fire. He jumped about from side to side in a panic, so that if it had not been for the bleakness of the situation, many of the bystanders would doubtlessly have commented with amusement on how he resembled a hopping rabbit. "What has happened?" he cried out to the bystanders. "Please, for the love of God, what has happened?"
"I beg your pardon sir," a young man whispered, crossing to Lee. "Are you the owner of this estate?"
Lee had hardly heard the young man, for the fire had him completely mesmerized. Finally, he managed to squeak out a painful, "Yes."
"There was a British invasion through Stratford, sir. No one was killed, thank the Lord. But several were injured. Fearing a colonial uprising, the British troops recently departed. But on their way, they thought it best to torch your estate. I suppose they were trying to send a message."
"But… But…" At this point, several streams of tears were rolling down Lee's cheeks. "Why? Why my estate? It was so… beautiful."
"We offer our condolences, sir," an older woman said gruffly. All at once, Lee suddenly went from being in painful shock to utter disbelief. He galloped towards a conveniently placed well, and filled a bucket with water. He ran towards the estate and started dunking it from the ground up. In his denial, poor Lee did not realize that moistening the floor of his house, which was already set ablaze, would hardly help the situation. And the fact that, in his frantic travels between the house and the well, the majority of the water sloshed out of his bucket only made this sight all the more pathetic. Finally, after witnessing this for over ten minutes, one bystander had the compassion to grab hold of Lee and tear the bucket out of his hands.
"It's my home!" Lee cried out. "I have to save it! It's been in my family for generations! I have to save it. It's my- "
"Please!" an older man snapped. "Stop torturing yourself. There is nothing to be done about it. We are all deeply sorry, sir. Truly, we are. But do you not think that perhaps this is the time in which you should go and console your wife?" At this, Lee turned his head up.
"Anne? Is she unharmed? Please tell me she is well!"
"She is fine, sir. But now is the time to go to her."
"And the children?"
"They are in the caring hands of their governess. Now go!"
"But where shall I find her?"
"Lodgings have been provided for her and your children." The old man proceeded to give Lee directions to the said lodgings. Unfortunately, Lee had only heard about half of what the man had told him and it took him a little over half the night to locate his family. One kind neighbor took note of the fact that Lee had no means of transportation. Though the neighbor was either unable or unwilling to lend him a mare, he was good enough to allow Lee to borrow a rather bony mule, which soon proved to wear on Lee's already shattered nerves.
"How…" he thought to himself, trying to get comfortable while riding that beast of an animal, "How could this happen to me? I'm a Lee. A Lee of old Virginia!" Out of nowhere, this suddenly reminded him of all that he had been boasting about before to Benjy and Johnny. "And may my horses turn to glue," he quietly hummed under his breath. He stared down in disgust at the animal he was now mounted upon. "You're nothing compared to Buddy!" he snapped. "May he rest in peace!" He rode on in despair. "May the British burn my land," he went on. "If I can't deliver to your hand…a resolution-" Suddenly, Lee jumped up, almost knocking himself off of the mule. He tried to catch his breath, but soon felt his vision beginning to sway. "No!" he exclaimed. "That's preposterous! It's absolutely ridiculous!" He trotted on in silence. "Maybe I did say all those things. Maybe I did dare the world and all who inhabit it to punish me if I were unable to obtain the resolution. But what does it matter?" At this point, it might have appeared that Lee was lecturing his mule. "What? Do you think it is some kind of curse? You think that this is my payment for not being able to live up to my word?" Though the first question had been rhetorical, Lee almost hoped that perhaps the mule would be good enough to answer him by the time he finished the second. "Absolutely not!" he cried out, once more. "It's ludicrous and I refuse to think about it anymore!" But Lee did think about it. In fact, he could not stop thinking about it until finally he reached the lodgings where he desperately hoped to find his wife's loving arms. For if he did not find her in a pleasant disposition, he would know for a fact that there was a curse. And the next part of it would be worse than all other curses combined.